Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 "All three of you fellas wear these Band- Aids?" Officer Fallon asked Jud. Jud nodded. "Working on Tyrone, we were always nicking our fingers," he said. "So I bought a box of Band-Aids, and we all keep a few in our pocket." Officer Fallon glanced at the duffel bag. "Who handled that bag last?"

"I'm the only one who ever put the money in the bag," Jud said. "I must've been wearing a Band-Aid, and it slipped off my finger when I stuck the bag in the compartment." "Or the Band-Aid could have fallen off the thief's finger when he stole the bag," Officer Fallon said. "Whoever it was." He gave Jud a close look. Jud thought for a moment before he spoke. "I know it looks like one of us stole the money," he said. "But I sure didn't take it, and I can't believe Dean or Scoop would, either!" "Could the robber be someone else?" Dink asked. "But who?" Officer Fallon said. "Jud, you told me only you and Dean have keys to your dinosaur." "That's right," Jud said. "But Dean is my best friend!"

Officer Fallon slipped the baggie and his pen into a pocket. "Between Scoop Raker and Dean Whitefeather, who had more opportunity to get at that duffel bag?" he asked Jud. Jud looked at his feet. "Dean, I guess," he mumbled. "He slept next to Tyrone last night." Officer Fallon put his hand on Jud's shoulder. "I want you to wait in my office while I get Dean," he said. "Do you think he's still at the fireworks?" "I guess," Jud said. "Meanwhile, I'll put this money in our safe," Officer Fallon went on. "I'll see you at the station in a few minutes." Looking embarrassed, Jud turned and headed toward Main Street. In a few seconds, he had disappeared in the darkness. Officer Fallon looked at Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. "Your parents might be missing you by now," he said. "I'll take you back, okay?" Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose followed Officer Fallon to his cruiser and climbed into the backseat. Officer Fallon drove them to Main Street. Colorful fireworks were still lighting the skies over the town swimming pool. Officer Fallon

parked between the tennis courts and the baseball field. The kids watched him walk toward the baseball field fence; then they went to find their parents. "There you are!" Dink's mother said. "We thought you'd been abducted by aliens!" Looking at his watch, Dink realized they'd been gone nearly half an hour. The kids sat where they could watch Officer Fallon. He walked over to Dean, and the two men stood talking for a minute. Then Officer Fallon led Dean to his cruiser. The car pulled onto Main Street and disappeared. "I can't believe Jud's friend robbed him," Ruth Rose said. Josh lay back on the grass. "I wonder what will happen to Tyrone now," he said. "I guess Jud and Scoop will hire someone to take Dean's place," Dink said. "Where is Scoop?" Ruth Rose asked.

"Wasn't he by the fence with Dean?" Dink asked. "No," Josh said. "Only Dean was there. Maybe Scoop went back to the hotel. He said he didn't get much sleep last night because of the storm." Dink remembered the storm raging outside his window last night. He thought about Dean waking up in the rain and dashing for the truck. In his mind, he saw those muddy footprints on the shed floor. And that morning, Scoop's wet sneakers hanging from his car antenna. "Guys, I think everyone's wrong about Dean!" Dink said suddenly. "I think Scoop stole the money, and I think he hid it in the garden shed!" "But he didn't have a key," Josh said. "I think Scoop knew that Dean wouldn't sleep outside once it started to rain. Dean moved into the truck cab to stay dry, and that's when Scoop got inside Tyrone."

"How? Scoop didn't have a key" Josh said again. "Somehow, Scoop must have taken Jud's key while Jud was asleep," Dink said. "Scoop stole the duffel bag, hid it in the shed, then ran back to the hotel. He must have planned to return to the shed later to get the money." Suddenly Ruth Rose gasped. "Maybe that's where Scoop is now!" she said. "He could sneak away, like we did!" "Come on!" Dink said. The kids zipped past the Mystic Greenhouse, cut behind the Book Nook, and raced toward the rose garden. Out of breath, they crouched behind some rosebushes ten yards from the shed. A light flickered through the open door. "Someone's inside!" Josh hissed. The three kids crept close enough to see inside the shed. They saw a dark-haired figure kneeling in front of the stack of burlap bags. When the man stood up, they knew it was Scoop Raker. "What should we do?" Ruth Rose whispered. "The screwdriver is there," Josh said. "I'm gonna lock him in!" "No!" Dink said. "Let's go get Officer Fallon!"